Double Edged Sword
by Toto93
Summary: After being saved by the Govorner Rebecca thinks that Woodbury is the perfect place for her and Dixon to start over. However when things seem too good to be true they usually are. How will Rebecca deal with her losses and will she get to see Daryl again? If so can she forgive him for leaving her behind? SEQUEL TO UNTRUSTWORTHY please read that first. Rated M for violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to the sequel of my story 'Untrustworthy', If you haven't read that one yet please do before you read this one. I've just started watching walking dead from the beginning for the third time and it's still awesome. So here we go, the first chapter of my new story.**

* * *

Rebecca woke to the feeling of Dixon licking her hand.

"You hungry boy?" She mumbled

"He's a fine guard dog" the Governor chuckled from the door way, Rebecca twisted round feeling her heart jump in fright.

"Governor, you scared me." Rebecca sighed, holding her hand to her chest.

"Sorry Ma'am, didn't mean to sneak up on you, S'just nice watching him with you. He won't leave your side." He apologized, smiling sweetly at her.

"It's okay, now and then I wake up thinking it's just me and Dixon again, out there alone... It feels amazing when I remember we're safe here." She whispered, ruffling Dixon's fur.

"I just came by to ask if you've got any clothes that need washin'" The Governor explained, reaching down and picking up an old, tattered shirt.

"Not that!" Rebecca yelped, jumping out of the bed and snatching it away from him.

"Belong to someone important to you?"

"It reminds me... of a better time." Rebecca smiled holding it up to her face and closing her eyes.

The Governor nodded as Rebecca looked at him.

"I can understand that." He smiled gently at her "An old boyfriend?"

"I guess you could say that..." she whispered "We parted on bad terms... a long time a go."

"He still alive?" He asked

"I'm not sure, I doubt it though..."

The Governor smiled tenderly at her. "We've cleaned out an apartment for you and Dixon, it has a lot of books and clothes in there for you to enjoy."

"Thank you so much, you saved my life." Rebecca placed the shirt on the bed and caught sight of herself in the mirror. Since she'd been here she'd managed to put on weight, she didn't look as skeletal anymore and her deep, blue eyes had life in them again. Her hair, although still quite short, didn't hang as limply as before.

"We've got to stick together, keep hold of some real kind of life. Come down to the town hall when you're ready to move in." The Governor said before leaving her alone.

"Dixon, we're going to have a proper home now." She grinned

Dixon barked happily, wagging his tail.

"I better get our stuff together." She sighed

* * *

Rebecca and Dixon stepped out of the door on to the street, a few people waved and smiled at her, the bright sunlight couldn't shake the biting cold wind that blew through her. It was almost winter and Rebecca shivered, she didn't have proper clothing to keep her going through the colder months but hopefully she'd find some in this new apartment.

"Good morning Rebecca." a cheery voice greeted her.

"Chris! Good morning." Rebecca smiled, Chris was a nurse in Woodbury, he'd helped her recover and spent most days with her since her arrival, his sandy blonde hair shined in the early morning sun. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard they'd found you a place to settle, thought I'd come by and help you." He grinned,

"That's very kind of you." Rebecca blushed

"Don't mention it, I like spending time with you." He muttered

It made her feel uncomfortable, she was thankful to him, he'd saved her life after all, but it had only been three months since she last saw Daryl. She didn't want any kind of romantic attachments anymore, this world was too cruel. She just wanted to live and look after Dixon and this town would make that possible.

The gates at the end of the street screeched as they slowly opened allowing a truck to rumble in to the secure town.

"What's going on?" Rebecca asked, she'd never seen the gates open the two months she'd been here.

"Merle Dixon and his group must be returning from their mission." Chris explained,

Rebecca's eyes widened dramatically as the name Merle Dixon repeated in her mind.

"Merle Dixon?" She yelped, she'd know that name any where, Daryl's older brother.

She sprinted towards the truck as it came to a halt allowing the men to jump out.

"Merle Dixon!" She yelled at the group, a few turned to look at her with confused glares before a man lifted his hand.

"I know you?" The man huffed

"Are you Merle Dixon?" She asked, reaching out to him

"What's it to you sweetheart?" He smirked, there was no doubt in Rebecca's mind that this was Daryl's brother, the way he carried himself and his southern accent were exactly the same as Daryl.

"I knew Daryl." She whispered

Merle's eyes widened briefly before he took her by the arm and dragged her towards the town hall.

"How'd you know my brother?" He hissed

"He found me, let me be a part of his group."

"Why isn't he with you now... he's dead?" He stopped and stared in to her eyes.

"I don't know, we got... separated... when I went back to find him the group had disappeared." She wished she had better news for Daryl's brother but that was all she could say.

"Where did you see him last?" He asked, his grip tightening on her arm painfully.

"At a farm, Greene farm. I don't know how to get there from here though, and like I said, it's abandoned." She winced in pain from the tight grip of Merle's only hand.

Merle drops her arm and stalks off towards the town hall, Rebecca rubbed her arm gently before following him. To think she'd ended up in the place Daryl's brother lived, it had to be a sign. She would find him again, alive or dead, and she had a lot to say to him about how he left her alone, how she almost died. She understanded his logic behind staying with the group but she would have chosen him over anything else.

* * *

**So, what do you think of the first chapter? :) I am so enthusiastic to write this story that I want to finish it in one day, however I do want to keep you guys on edge aha. Tough decision. **


	2. Chapter 2

Rebecca pushed open the door to her new apartment, it smelled musty and old, there was a small, full book shelf next to the old TV. Rebecca ran her fingers over the spines of the books, it had been too long since the last time she relaxed with a book. Dixon jumped up on to the brown arm chair and curled up, watching Rebecca wander round the room. She could see herself and Dixon living there, this could be theirs.

She walked through a door to find a bedroom, she opened the only cupboard in there and found lots of cardigans, pants and tops.

Rebecca turned at the sound of a knock at the door, she strode over to open it and found the Governor standing there.

"How'd you like the place?" He asked

Rebecca smiled warmly at him

"It's perfect, I couldn't ask for anything better." Rebecca gushed "Please, come in."

The Governor stepped in to the main room, walking towards Dixon he sat on the couch and reached over to stroke Dixon's fur.

Rebecca perched on the arm of the chair, liking to stay as close to Dixon as possible.

"How many people live here then?" Rebecca asked

"74 now."

"Wow, that's a lot, has anyone ever left?"

"Everyone is free to leave when they want, but no one ever does."

"Really? No one?" Rebecca was skeptical, the idea that everyone that came here decided to stay was hard to believe, sure it was a fantastic place but not everyone can function in a community anymore.

"Would you want to leave?" His voice grew low, Rebecca felt uncomfortable all of a sudden, she shouldn't have asked, she didn't want any trouble.

"Of course not." She quickly answered

"There's your answer." He stated, rising out of his chair "I better leave, I have a lot of work to do today."

"Thank you for stopping by, it means a lot that you're trying so hard to make me feel comfortable." She really did feel grateful for his kindness but she did want him to leave.

* * *

"Hey little lady" Merle whistled

"Merle" Rebecca nodded

"Tell me about my brother," He ordered

"What do you want to know?" Rebecca crossed her arms, unsure whether she trusted Merle or not.

"How'd you know 'im"

"He saved me, found me alone in the forest, brought me back to his camp." She wanted to be brief

"You ever find your way in to his bed? Y'know, to thank him." Merle growled, his smirk was twisted.

"That's none of your business." She hissed

"I guess not, my brother ain't the type to get what he wants." He chuckled cruelly

"Merle, I'm telling you now, if you wanna talk to me about Daryl and where he could be, that's fine. But if you want to ask about my personal relationship with him I will take that metal arm of yours and shove it up your ass." She whispered menacingly

Merle's eyes widened briefly before he broke in to obnoxious laughter.

"You're alright sweetheart." he laughed

"Thanks." Rebecca grinned as Merle patted her on the head, she glanced around, "Do you know where Chris is?"

"Yeah, he jus' walked towards the town hall, you'll catch him if you run." Merle answered, turning back to working on his truck.

Rebecca turned and sprinted towards the town hall,

"Chris!" She yelled, seeing him about to enter the Town hall.

He stopped and looked towards her, he smiled sweetly walking back down the steps and walking to meet her. Rebecca felt happy when she saw how pleased he was to see her, then she felt guilty. She had to remind herself that Daryl left her, he didn't want to be with her so entertaining the idea of being with someone else wasn't a bad thing.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked, reaching out to push some stray hair behind her ear.

"I want to learn how to shoot properly." she rushed out, embarrassed to look at him properly

"That's fantastic, you free right now?" He exclaimed, Rebecca looked back up at him.

"Definitely."

"Let's go then." Chris pointed down the street, Rebecca turned and called for Dixon to follow them as they walked.

* * *

Shooting practise was not going well, Rebecca couldn't get head shots. Not even on a still target, the target was too small. She was getting more and more frustrated every time she missed.

"Fuck!" She hissed

Chris snickered behind her, she whirled round and glared at him.

"What's so funny." She pouted

"It's your first time, you can't expect to be great straight away." He reasoned walking towards her, he stood behind her and his hands ran down her arms lifting them. One of his hands left her arm and rested on her waist. "You need to take your time."

Rebecca didn't like how close he was, his voice was bouncing around in her head making her feel dizzy. She stepped away from him, blushing madly.

"You shouldn't do that." She whispered

His smile twitched slightly before he chuckled and stepped close to her, he held her chin between his forefinger and thumb.

"Come on, you ask me to come here to help you shoot? alone? It's obvious what you really want." Chris mumbled

"I wanted to learn how to shoot, if I wanted something else I would have said so." She retorted

"Women never say what they really want, but don't worry, I can tell." He pulled her face close and closed his eyes.

Rebecca shoved him away furiously and Dixon lept between them, baring his teeth and growling threateningly

"I think you should leave." Rebecca stated

Chris glared at them both and stalked away quickly mumbling under his breath.

Rebecca sat on the ground and Dixon whined at her before licking her face.

"Nothing's ever perfect I guess." she muttered, ruffling his fur. She realised she was shaking, she clung on to Dixon desperately and sobbed in to his fur. "I miss Daryl" She whispered.


	3. Chapter 3

**Not a long chapter, I'm finding this harder to write... It will get better in the next chapter, and longer. I just wanted to get this part done. :) Please review.**

For days Chris had been avoiding Rebecca, ever since their strange interaction at shooting practise. Rebecca sat on a bench outside of her apartment just watching the people walk past with Dixon led at her feet. Chris' angry expression hadn't left her mind, she'd never expected things to end that way. She just hoped he'd calm down and they could go back to being friends.

"Hey Rebecca." a woman greeted her warmly

"Helen, good afternoon." Rebecca replied

"Did you hear? Some new people have been brought in." Helen loved to gossip, she thrived on the attention

"Nope, how many?" Rebecca decided to go along with it, she liked Helen.

"Two women, one of them looked pretty weak." Helen glanced down the street "There they are! Rowan's giving them a tour."

Rebecca looked down the street and saw the three women strolling towards them. She squinted at them, the blonde one looked familiar.

"Oh my God." Rebecca whispered, she stood up, ignoring Helen's questions and walked towards the women.

"Andrea?" She called, the blonde woman looked up and stared at her.

"Rebecca!" She shouted

Rebecca reached the small group and touched Andrea's arm.

"You're real." Rebecca mumbled

Andrea smiled at her

"I never thought I'd be happy to see you!" Andrea laughed pulling Rebecca in for a hug. Rebecca froze slightly before relaxing in to her arms and hugging her back. They clung to each other before Rowan coughed and they pulled apart.

"I went back... the farm... I went back and it'd burnt down... I thought you'd all died." Rebecca whispered "Daryl?"

Andrea shook her head "I don't know, I got separated from them."

"I'm sorry." Rebecca stated

"How did you escape?" Andrea asked

"I wore down the ropes, I thought you were going to kill me." Rebecca explained

"I'm glad you got away, a herd passed through two days after you left." Andrea shook her head, frowning.

"God... " Rebecca shivered, she couldn't imagine how scary that would be.

"I know, I almost didn't make it out. I'm lucky Michonne found me." Andrea motioned towards Michonne, smiling gently. "I wish I could tell you more but I don't know where the rest are..."

"Well... it's good to see you again." Rebecca smiled

"You too... I'm sorry we didn't trust you... that was horrible of us." Andrea apologised

"Yeah, it was pretty shitty but I understand it. You can never be too careful, I can't say I wouldn't have reacted the same way." Rebecca admitted.

Dixon nudged Rebecca's hand impatiently.

"Who's this?" Andrea exclaimed, crouching down to stroke him.

"Dixon, he found me while I was alone. He gave me something to live for."

"Dixon?" Andrea asked

"I know, but it's a coincidence, I swear." Rebecca chuckled softly. "You should come to mine, we can talk there properly."

"Is that okay?" Andrea asked Rowan

"Of course. Come find me when you want to finish the tour." Rowan nodded and left.

"Follow me." Rebecca grinned.

* * *

Andrea settled herself on to the couch and Michonne stood, peering out of the window. Rebecca sat on the arm-chair and Dixon led at her feet.

"He won't leave your side." Andrea noted, smiling at Dixon.

"I think it's because we're not truly settled in yet, he'll be okay by himself soon." Rebecca explained.

"How long have you been here?" Andrea asked

"Um, a couple of months now..." Rebecca guessed

"Is it safe?" Michonne shot at her, glaring at the street

"Um..." Rebecca glanced at Andrea "Yeah, I guess so."

"That Governor... is he a good man?" She turned to Rebecca

"He saved me. I was on the brink of death and he brought me and Dixon here and saved me." Rebecca defended him, Michonne glares at her making Rebecca squirm in her seat. "Yes. He is a good man."


	4. Chapter 4

"Shortie." Merle called

"Shortie?!" Rebecca gawked

"Yeah, you're short and I keep forgetting your name, Dixon not with you today?" Merle laughed

"Whatever, he's at home today, what's up?" Rebecca decided to ignore this stupid nickname

"Andrea told me the location of the farm, I reckon if I get there I'll be able to find Daryl." Merle smirked

"Seriously? It's been months since he was there, he could be anywhere by now." Rebecca shook his head, she didn't want to keep on hoping. It was too hard, she wanted to move on.

"I have to find out." Merle whispered "And I want you to come with me."

Rebecca knew she'd regret not finding out.

"I'll come with you, but only because you shouldn't go alone." Rebecca tried to convince herself more than him.

"Good, I'll talk to Gov'ner about it later." Merle smirked

"Let me know how that goes."

"Will do Shortie."

Rebecca shook her head and turned to leave, she'd left Dixon alone for too long, she clutched her bag of supplies close to her body as she jogged back home.

She pushed open the door and whistled.

"Dixon, I brought us some food." She called

She walked in to the kitchenette and placed the bag on the counter, she couldn't hear Dixon yet which confused her.

"Dixon?" She shouted, looking around the room she scratched her head. "Where are you hiding?" she laughed

She walked round her apartment and couldn't find him anywhere. She pushed her bedroom door open and saw a lump on the bed under her cover.

"Ha! You were hiding from me." She giggled, taking hold of the cover, she flung it off the bed. Her eyes bulged at the sight of Dixon lead down, his limbs at odd angles, blood pooled around him, saturating the bed. His eyes were staring at her, glassy and dark. Rebecca tried to scream but her mouth just hung open, the sound trapped in her throat. She reached out to him hoping he'd disappear and this was just a horrible dream. His fur was matted with dried blood, he was cold and rigid.

"Fuck no... no... who could" She whispered stumbling back, she knocked in to a book case by the door, a glass on top of it shattered on the floor. She knelt and tried to pick up the shards of glass off the floor, it sliced in to her palm.

"Ughh..." She sobbed, clutching her chest with her uninjured hand she whined, she pulled herself up off the floor.

"Fu... Ughh... No..."

She threw herself against the door of her apartment and fell out in to the hall way. She kept tripping over her own feet, trying to swallow the vomit threatening to force its way out of her mouth.

She tripped down the steps in to the street and screamed.

Michonne and Andrea ran towards her, Andrea held her up as she shook violently.

"What's happened?" Andrea shouted

"Dixon... inside..." Rebecca coughed

Michonne ran inside, leaving the other two women on the street. Rebecca's legs gave way and Andrea struggled to keep her upright.

The Governor marched over as a small group gathered round Rebecca and Andrea trying to find out what happened.

"What's going on here?" He demanded

Michonne slowly walked out of the building, her face ashen.

"Dixon was killed." She whispered

Gasps escaped the mouths of the group and Andrea pulled Rebecca closer to her.

"Everyone leave, Rebecca needs her space." He ordered, the group dispersed reluctantly.

"Rebecca, we will sort this out, we will find out who did this." He promised

Rebecca shook her head.

"I need to bury him." she whispered

"I don't think that's a good idea right now." Andrea soothed

"No!" Rebecca yelled, pushing Andrea away "I'm sorry I just... I need to do this."

The Govorner nodded

"That's fine, we can do that." He looked solemnly as Andrea who nodded.

"Why Dixon... He was..." Rebecca sobbed

She stared up at the Govorner, rage replacing the sorrow that consumed her.

"If I find out who did this before you, I will kill them." She growled.

* * *

Rebecca had insisted on digging the grave for Dixon all by herself, she wiped her forehead of sweat and climbed out of the hole. Dixon was led by the currently empty grave wrapped up in a blanket from Rebecca's apartment.

"It was his favourite." Rebecca explained as she knelt down and picked him up, Merle moved to help her but she shook her head. "He's my dog." she whispered

She managed to climb down in to the hole and gently laid him on the ground. Andrea reached down and helped her out of the grave. She picked up the shovel and began throwing the dirt back in.

The hard work helped, it forced her to carry on, but she was scared of finishing because as soon as she finished she would have to deal with her grief and she wasn't sure she could handle it. She felt stupid, Dave would have told her Dixon was just a dog, but he wasn't just a dog, he was her best friend.

She spread the last sprinkling of dirt on the grave and threw her shovel away.

Andrea rested her hand on Rebecca's shoulder and squeezed it.

"He kept me going... Y'know? I was so close to giving up... just letting all this shit just... get to me, I was going to give up then he showed up, he just appeared one morning. Like he was waiting for me, like he was telling me I needed to carry on. He made it okay... and I can never get that back... someone stole that from me." Rebecca cried "He was supposed... I don't know who he belonged to before or anything but he was MY dog and I will kill the person who did this.


	5. Chapter 5

**It's taken me longer than usual to update, I've had a rough week at** **work so I haven't had any time to write, I hope no one thought I'd given up :) I just couldn't face writing anything after a full day of being sworn at four days in a row. However, it's over now so here I am, enjoying my weekend by writing my fanfiction. This is the life.**

* * *

Rebecca's eyes were dry and itchy, she stared at the ceiling all night waiting for the person who killed Dixon to come back and get her but they never came, now it was becoming evening and she'd barely moved. A knock at the door made her flinch. She dragged her eyes away from the ceiling to glare at the door. She thought everyone had the common sense to leave her alone, she didn't want to see anyone now. She rolled over and stared at the far wall willing the clearly moronic person at the door to realise they weren't wanted and leave.

"I know you're in there, it won't do you any good to be alone."

Rebecca groaned, she'd recognise Chris' voice anywhere and he was the last person she'd want in her apartment when she was on her own.

The door knob twisted as he pounded on the door. Rebecca pulled a pillow over her head and shut her eyes tight.

"I'm just trying to help you, please let me in! Everyone's worried about you." He called through the door.

Rebecca sat up and threw the pillow at the wall, she needed sleep but she knew it would be a long time until she felt safe enough in her apartment to properly drift off.

"Calm down!" She yelled at the front door "I'm coming."

She glanced at herself in the mirror as she walked past it, grimacing at her exhausted reflection she trudged towards the door. She unlocked the door before yanking it open and frowning at Chris, he looked almost as tired as her with his pale complexion and dark circles beneath his eyes.

"What do you want?" she spat

"Are you going to invite me in?" he chuckled

She closed the door slightly so he couldn't get the wrong idea, she did not want him in her space.

"I'll take that as a no." he sighed

"Good." she forced through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry about Dixon." he muttered "He was a good dog."

Rebecca could only nod, a lump in her throat formed at the mention of Dixon's name.

"Let me in, I can take care of you now." He whispered, reaching out to Rebecca, she glanced down at the floor trying to stop herself from crying in front of him.

"You're all alone now." he mumbled

Rebecca's gaze shot up to meet his, his smile was strange and it made Rebecca shiver. His foot was shoved against the door not allowing her to close it completely.

"You need to leave." She choked

"You're so naïve." He leant against the door heavily.

"I appreciate you coming here Chris but I'm really tired so I think you should go." Her voice trembled as she tried to keep the door almost closed to stop him getting in.

"You think I'd leave you alone? I'm the only one who will never leave you Rebecca." His eyes bore in to hers

Heavy footsteps making their way towards them made Chris twitch and his eyes darted down the hall.

"Oh Merle." he exclaimed standing up straight, stumbling away from the door.

"Chris." Merle's gruff voice was like heaven to Rebecca's ears

"I better go, I'm sorry for your loss Rebecca." Chris stuttered as he walked away.

"Weird guy." Merle laughed,

"Hmm... I think you came at the perfect time" Rebecca watched Chris walk away until she couldn't see him anymore and turned her attention to Merle.

"I wanted to talk about my brother." Merle stated

Rebecca felt her heart ache, it had been so long since he'd left her but it still stung. She nodded slowly and opened the door properly, she turned to walk to her couch.

"Sorry again 'bout Dixon, good dog, loyal." Merle said

"Thank you Merle." Rebecca whispered, she ran her fingers through her short greasy hair.

"Look's like you need a cut." he chuckled at her messy hair

"I'll get round to it." she murmured "You wanted to talk about Daryl."

"I told the Gov'ner I wanted to go look for him with you."

"What did he say?"

"He don't think it's a good idea just yet, not until we get more concrete information." Merle shook his head solemnly.

"That makes sense, it's been so long since the farm." Rebecca stared at her own hands, thin and pale, she missed Daryl's big, tanned, always dirty hands. "We'd end up running around in circles with no trail and no idea where he could have gone."

"I know, I just wanna go get him. It's always been me an' him. He's blood." Merle admitted.

"Well, we will find him one day... we just need more of an idea of where to look." Rebecca smiled gently at Merle, he may be rough around the edges but he was a good man who cared about his brother. "Curfew will be soon, you better go."

Merle stood up. "Do you want me to stay? That creepy guy... Chris... he might come back."

"Even if he does he won't be able to get in. You should get some sleep, it's the barbeque tomorrow."

"You gonna go to that?" Merle asks, eyebrows raised in shock

"I need a good distraction."

"I'm sure you will get exactly that tomorrow evening." Merle chuckles

"What does that mean?" She asks

"You'll see, see you tomorrow Shortie." Merle laughs as he walks out of her apartment.

She locks and bolts the door behind him and walks back to her bedroom. The sun was setting so she walked to the window, she pulled it shut and peered out. The streets were growing shadowy and she couldn't make out if anyone was out there. She lent her head against the cool glass and closed her eyes. The day had lasted too long, her body ached and her eyes stung.

Her eyes slowly opened and focused on the street, as they grew used to the dark she noticed a figure standing in the middle of her street. She squinted, trying to figure out who they were, they seemed to stare back at her before turning and walking away.

She felt sick, a feeling she was becoming extremely used to.


	6. Chapter 6

**A huge thank you to those who have reviewed, I am so grateful that you've taken the time to let me know what you think of this story. I'm really glad people are enjoying it. I'll be honest, when I started writing my first story, Untrustworthy, I thought I would give up after a few chapters because no one would like it. Ha! But I'm really glad I stuck with it and now I'm on the sequel and people are enjoying it, even though Daryl hasn't made an appearance yet and it's pretty much just a Rebecca story so far. It makes me so happy. :D**

* * *

The next day Rebecca was leaning over the sink in her bathroom in the dim morning sun light. She groaned as she poured some water over her head trying to cool herself down. The clear liquid ran in to her eyes and down her cheeks, she rubbed her face to try and get the grime off. She couldn't get the figure from the street out of her mind, who would be watching her like that? She must have imagined it, she was running on fumes now since she couldn't sleep without nightmares of Dixon lying in her bed cold and rigid. His eyes were dark and blank, accusing her of letting him die.

She shivered at the memory, she tried to focus of practising her smile. She would have to leave her apartment today, it was the barbeque and she couldn't miss it. People would notice and come find her. She had a feeling in the pit of her stomach she couldn't shake, that something wasn't right about this town. The safety was fake, she'd witnessed this first hand. Something evil was in the supposed safety of the walls surrounding them and what would have been their saviour became the cage that had trapped her and Dixon.

She wandered in to her bedroom and pulled on a baggy t-shirt and pair of torn jeans, she glanced at the knife with Daryl's initials etched in to the handle. It lay by her bedside, untouched since the day she had found Dixon. She picked it up and ran her fingers over the indents carved by Daryl so long ago.

"I wish I was with you again..." she whispered "Too much has happened here... but I doubt I fit in with you anymore..."

* * *

Rebecca walked down the street, her knife hung on to her belt hidden from view by her t-shirt. She spotted Michonne alone and ran towards her.

"Michonne" Rebecca calls causing Michonne to notice her and nod her greetings. "How are you?"

"Fine." Michonne grumbles

"You don't trust this place." Rebecca stated, she knew Michonne hadn't liked Woodbury since she got here and had wanted to leave immediately, Andrea was holding her back.

"Do you?" Michonne shot back, raising her eyebrow.

"Not anymore... I'm afraid something isn't right." Rebecca admitted

"Then why don't you just leave?"

"Because I'm just as afraid of being out there... alone... I could live here but out there I don't have anything keeping me going." Rebecca glanced around, she didn't want to run in to Chris today.

"That's pathetic, you don't need something to make you want to survive, you just do. You live. That's it." Michonne glared at Rebecca before stalking away, leaving her alone feeling guilty of her own inadequacy.

She saw a group of people gathering outside of the town hall and decided to join them, she had to at least look like she was enjoying today even if she really just wanted to crawl back to bed and never get up again.

Milton stood in front of her, his eyes full of concern as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" He asked, Rebecca squirmed at his tone of voice, so full of pity.

"I don't think any of us will be okay again. We're all carrying a huge burden." She answered, her voice growing in strength.

"We can be okay, this won't last forever." He seemed uneasy with her answer.

"This kind of pain does." Rebecca whispered, she looked up to the stairs to the Town halls main entrance as the Governor walked up them. He turned to the group of people milling around, whispering excitedly. She saw Andrea at the front of the group staring up at him as if she were in a dream.

He raises his glass and the group mimic him without missing a beat.

"We've built a place we can call home," he shouts. "Today, we celebrate how far we've come."

The group cheered and drank, laughing merrily and hugging one another. Rebecca smiled wistfully at them, wishing she had their hope. She just couldn't pretend to herself anymore. This was her lot, she had to deal with it but she knew there was nothing more for her out there.

* * *

Rebecca was stood next to Andrea watching the empty space before them waiting for something to happen. The crowd buzzed, the atmosphere so thick with excitement and anticipation she almost felt as though she'd drown in it.

Andrea looked confused but Rebecca had seen this event before, the gladiator style fight surrounded by walkers.

As Merle and Martinez walked out the crowd screamed for them, the faces of the crowd blurred together in the hazy firelight from the torches around the arena.

They began to fight, Andrea stared at the Governor in horror upon realising what was going on.

Rebecca couldn't stomach it last time, leaving early and not going to one since but this one was different. This time she felt the excitement bubbling inside her, the pain needed an escape so her adrenaline pumped through her. As the two men fight she realised that everyone has to look out for themselves. Michonne was right, she didn't need someone else to need to live, she just needs to want to be alive.

She raised her fist and began cheering along with the crowd, she wanted to see the end. She knew it was staged, just something to help the group blow off some steam but she realised she wanted someone to lose and she wanted to see it, her smile was manic and twisted as she glanced at Andrea who was staring at her, wide eyed, leaning away from her in disgust. Rebecca didn't care, she turned back to the fight and for the first time in a long time, she didn't feel sick anymore, she was excited.


	7. Chapter 7

**This is just a quick scene, sorry if you wanted another long one but the next one will be longer. I promise. :)**

* * *

Rebecca walked down the deserted street towards her apartment, adrenaline still screaming through her veins. Her head felt fuzzy, she'd never realised how good it could feel to not care, to shut out the painful feelings and concentrate on the things that felt good. She didn't need to feel fear, one day she would die and probably painfully, that was inevitable why should she worry about it. She'd never find Daryl again, Dixon was dead, she only had herself and that was all she needed now.

She almost had herself convinced by the time she'd reached her apartment but then she noticed it. The door was ajar, her skin broke out in a cold sweat, her whole body shivered in terror. She'd definitely closed it properly before she'd left, someone must have broken in but who? She'd seen pretty much everyone at the barbeque and gladiator event.

She gripped the knife in her belt tightly with trembling fingers before pushing the door open with her free hand. She slowly crept in to the dark, seemingly empty living room she'd been living in. It seemed so alien to her now, the shadows twisted her perception making her see things that couldn't be there.

The floorboards creaked under her weight as she shuffled in leaving the door behind her open incase she need to run away. The room seemed untouched, empty, she glanced around, squinting desperately to try and get her eyes to focus in the dark room.

The door to her bedroom creaked loudly as it slowly opened, Rebecca froze, her breath became loud and shallow as her palms sweated. The door stopped moving and she didn't hear anything else. She walked towards the door and yanked it open, holding her knife up ready to plunge it in to whatever was in her apartment but nothing was there. She sighed in relief, her heart was beating wildly in her chest. She lowered her knife and held it to her body, feeling her chest rise and fall rapidly.

A large hand covered her mouth as another wrapped around her waist. She tried to scream but it was muffled by the person breathing down her neck. She twisted in their grip, squirming desperately. She heard the person laugh cruelly, her vision started to blur with tears and she flung her head back, making contact with the person behind her. They dropped her and she landed on the wooden floor with a loud thud. She tried to scramble away but a large boot made contact with her stomach making her cough violently as she hugged herself. She stared up at the person stood over her.

"Why..." she groaned

She felt them grab her short hair and immediately regretted not having it cut earlier. They dragged her to the middle of the living room before dropping her hair and stomping away.

She lay on the ground, weeping on to the hard, wooden floor. She felt for her knife but couldn't find it.

"Fuck" She whispered as the footsteps came closer again.

The person yanked her head up and leant close to her, breathing in her ear.

"I had to make sure you'd be alone." They whispered

"Chris?" Rebecca coughed.

A blinding pain struck the back of her head she couldn't move or speak, she just lay there as she felt herself get pulled up and thrown over his shoulder before she completely blacked out she thought she heard Daryl call her name. Wishful thinking.


	8. Chapter 8

Rebecca's head pounded dully as she carefully opened her eyes. Her arms were restrained behind the back of a wooden chair. She looked down and noticed she was wearing a knee-length, periwinkle blue dress, with no shoes on. She looked around the bare room she was sat in the middle of, she didn't recognise it and couldn't see her old clothes anywhere.

"You're finally awake."

Rebecca's head whipped round at the sound of Chris' voice, he strode in to view and stood in front of her. He lifted Daryl's knife off a shelf and ran it through his hands.

"Who's D.D?" He asked

Rebecca struggled against the ropes digging in to her wrists.

"Daryl?" He chuckled

"You're not allowed to say his name." She spat

"He can't have thought you that important, seeing as he left you." He reminded her leaning towards her.

Rebecca's stomach turned at the sight of Chris' deranged expression.

"You killed Dixon." She whispered

"That dog, he got in the way." Chris mumbled, turning the blade over in his hand

"You're a coward." She growled, tears burned her sore eyes

"I know how you feel about me, you'd want to be with me if not for the ghost of Daryl. He's more than likely dead... you know that, you're a smart girl." He purred

"You're insane." She hissed

He broke in to manic laughter, Rebecca recoiled in fear glancing around the room for her escape.

"I guess it is insane to love, but if that's the case you're just as insane as me, holding on to his memory. Keeping that dirty, old shirt with you. We're all insane, how could we not be." He chuckled, he slammed the knife down on a table and walked towards her. He pushed her chair back so it was leaning on the back legs, her feet unable to reach the ground.

"You've killed some one before, right?" He murmured

"Yes." Rebecca whimpered

"So you know what it's like... to see the light leave their eyes, to feel their body go limp... it's intoxicating." He pushed stray strands of hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead.

She forced her leg up as hard as she could, her foot making direct contact with his groin. He pushed her chair back and she landed with the hard, the wood of the chair smashing in to her back.

"You're a fuckin' bitch." He yelled, doubled over in anguish.

"Yeah, and you're a fuckin' psycho!" She screamed back.

He grabbed the knife and rolled her chair over, kneeling down he cut the ropes away from her wrists. He grabbed a handful of her hair and dragged her up by it.

"You'll come round, they always do." he whispered wrapping an arm around her waist he brought her close. He leant down and forcefully kissed her chapped lips. She opened her mouth and bit his lip as hard as she could, she tasted blood in her mouth as he ripped her face away from his. He dropped her on the ground heavily holding his hands to his mouth.

"I'm going to enjoy watching you die." he growled, he slammed the knife in to the ground, "Then you'll be obedient."

"People will notice I'm gone." She hissed, crawling away from him, her dress stained with droplets of his blood.

"They'll just think you ran away." He laughed.

He grabbed her leg and dragged her back towards him.

"Get the fuck off me!" She screamed kicking at him with her free leg connecting with his stomach, he dropped her leg and she scrambled up. He tried to tackle her to the ground but she threw herself out of his reach back towards the knife.

She gripped the knife and tried to pry it free of the floor boards.

"Don't you want it to end? The pain?" He whispered threateningly.

"I thought I did." she cried "But not like this."

She finally managed the get the knife free and turned to him, she quickly plunged it in to his stomach.

He stumbled back, holding the gaping wound oozing blood, his eyes wide with horror.

"This pain might be hard and it won't end... it keeps worming it's way deeper in to my heart but... I need it. It proves I'm alive, if I simply let myself die... it wouldn't be just the pain that went away, but the joy that could be in my future." She muttered as he collapsed to the ground, gasping in pain.

She knelt over him and raised the knife above her head, swiftly shoving it in to his chest. Deep, shuddering sobs racked her body as she stabbed him again and again until he stopped moving completely and his mouth hung open.

She shuffled away from his motionless body hugging her knees to her chest.

"You fucker." she sobbed.

She wrapped some rope around her waist as a make shift belt, after she wiped the blade of the knife on her already blood soaked dress she hung it through the rope belt.

She wandered shakily around the hardly lived in apartment until she found some sheets to wrap his body in. She covered him up and dragged him slowly to a cupboard. She shoved his body in as far as it would go and slammed the door shut. Rebecca leant against the closed door and slid down it.

Closing her eyes she cried in to her hands. As she cried she felt herself grow stronger, it was over. She'd gotten away with her life and she proved to herself she had wanted to live. She may be alone now, but she was alive and the pain she'd felt dulled slightly.

She wiped her eyes and stood, patting down her dress she knew she had to tell the Governor what had happened. She needed to go find him right away.

* * *

**I found this chapter difficult to write, I hope I portrayed her shift in emotional state fairly. I wanted it to be shown that after her life being threatened on a personal level, rather than by a walker, she'd realise that she truly wanted to live. She really doesn't need anyone else to prove that to her, she just needs to live. I hope you enjoyed reading it and that you could review to let me know. Thanks for sticking with me so far. :D I can't wait to get the next few chapters done for you to read. **


	9. Chapter 9

The door to Chris' apartment slammed shut behind Rebecca as she sprinted bare foot down the hall. She had to find the Governor, he would help her, he would understand. He's a good man.

Her feet stung as they hit the cold, rough ground. Pain ripped through her chest as she gulped down air. She knew she would have large bruises and running wouldn't help her at all right now but she needed to get to him. To tell him what had happened, how Chris had tried to kill her.

She yanked open the door to the Town Hall and screamed for him. The corridor was dark and silent. She searched the ground floor desperately, finding no one in the deserted building.

"Shit!" She yelled "He's usually everywhere and now I need him he's disappeared!"

She found the stair case leading to the next floor so she could search there when she heard movement come from the basement. She frowned down the dark stair case, maybe she shouldn't go down there, doesn't seem like she's supposed to but she needed to find him.

"Please be the Governor." she whispered

She crept down the stairs and came to a hall way with several doors running along the sides. Carefully sliding open the first door she found the room behind it was empty except for a desk and a turned over chair. Ignoring the empty room she moved on to the next door, leaning against it she sighed. Using all her force she flung the door open. The sight before her made her freeze on the spot.

"Maggie..." She gasped, her hand covered her mouth in horror.

"You shouldn't be down here." The Governor growled at her, his grip on Maggie's arm tightened as he leant over her half naked body.

Rage filled Rebecca's exhausted body as her gaze landed on the terrified expression on Maggie's face, he'd tricked her... the disgust turned to adrenaline as she launched herself at him.

"You bastard." She yelled

He dodged her swiftly and kicked her in the stomach, she dropped immediately, curled up on the ground she panted desperately.

"I really didn't want you to see this, but I can't let you leave now you have." He stated as he pulled Maggie upright and dragged her from the room.

Rebecca stared up at Maggie whowas shaking her head. Merle stepped in to view and leant in towards the Governor to listen to his instructions. He glanced right at Rebecca and his confident smirk broke briefly before he composed himself and nodded.

The Governor left with Maggie in tow as Merle shut the door behind him.

"Merle..." Rebecca coughed, clutching her chest.

"I'm real sorry Shortie." Merle muttered shaking his head.

"No, please..." She begged. "We could leave, me and you, find Daryl..."

"The Gov'ner saved my life."

He punched her in the jaw and pain tore through her. Rebecca's entire body felt broken, she lead on the ground as she slipped out of conciousness and back again. He's too strong to properly defend herself, after the torment she'd been through she just accepted it.

She heard Maggie yell something about a prison from the next room. Merle stops hitting her and turns to leave.

"I was wrong about you." Rebecca whispered

"Yeah, you were." Merle mumbled, slamming the door behind him.

"Rebecca" a strangled whisper came through the wall.

Rebecca dragged her sore, limp body towards the voice and leant heavily against the wall between them.

"Maggie." Her voice was pained.

"We thought you... how are you alive?" She asked

"I'm barely alive right now... but I survived... is Daryl..." Rebecca's voice broke at the mention of his name, she couldn't finish her question.

"He's alive." Maggie smiled gently

"He's... alive... Daryl..." Rebecca smiled, her eyes slid closed.

"They'll come to get us... Rick and everyone... you should come with us."

"I don't know if I can..."

"You'll die if you stay here." Maggie cried.

"Yeah... probably..." Rebecca acknowledged.

She opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling, smiling to herself.

"I guess I'll have to come with you then." She laughed, the possibility of seeing Daryl again made her feel giddy and light headed.

A loud bang shocked Rebecca in to sitting upright, all feelings of laughter left her immediately as she shuffled back against the far wall. Yelling erupted from outside her door, gun shots were fired and she could hear Maggie and Glenn shouting from the next room.

"Maggie!" Rebecca yelled through the wall but didn't get a reply.

Smoke started to spill underneath the door making Rebecca cough violently and her eyes water.

Her vision was too blurry but she heard the door get kicked open and saw a large figure in the door way. She rubbed her eyes and reached out to the person in front of her hoping for help. They strode over to her and lifted her with ease. She leant heavily against the broad chest and relaxed in to the strong arms surrounding her, for now she felt safe.


	10. Chapter 10

**Is this what everyone's been waiting for? Maybe, I hope so. :)**

* * *

"We can't trust her!" A familiar voice Rebecca recognised as Ricks yelled above the chaos.

"She saved me!" Maggie shouted

"We ain't gonna leave her again." A gruff voice rumbled out of the chest she was clutching to, it made her entire body ache desperately.

"She escaped last time." Rick argued

"We haven't got time to argue about this." Glenn reasoned.

Gun fire was still going off all around them but Rebecca didn't care, she could have died right there and she would have been content. Daryl was alive, he was there, she could feel his arms flex around her waist, cradling her, could hear his breath, his heart beat. He was real, he was there, all of a sudden the fear she'd been hiding flowed. She realised how truly afraid she'd been since the day they'd parted ways. Afraid she wouldn't see him alive again, afraid she'd die before she got a chance to tell him how he broke her heart.

The gun shots died down and Rebecca finally opened her eyes, she looked up at him, the only person she'd wanted to see for so long, so many words tumbled through her mind but all she could do is gawk at him. His eyes didn't leave hers, she saw the same conflicted emotions in his gaze that she was feeling.

"Is this real?" She whispered

Daryl smirked at her before following the rest of the group through a door and letting it close behind him. He placed her gently on the ground before kneeling down in front of her. His large hand tenderly cupped her face, she leant in to his touch eagerly.

"You're hurt." He mumbled

"A lot has happened..." She quickly moved his hand away, not ready for this. Their big reunion was not going as she'd planned. She wanted to scream at him, cuss him out, kiss him and run away all at once.

"I need to speak to Rebecca." Maggie muttered, Daryl glanced up at her before nodding slowly. He rose and strode to the opposite side of the room, he leant against the wall and kept his gaze on her.

"I'm glad you showed up when you did." Maggie smiles gently.

"I wish I'd got there sooner." Rebecca admitted "I had stuff to deal with."

"You couldn't have known."

"I thought he was a good man... He saved my life... how could he to have done that to you..."

"Of course you'd want to think he's good. What happened to you? You seemed terrified when you burst through that door." Maggie looked concerned as she glanced at the blood covered dress Rebecca was wearing.

"Oh God Maggie... I've been such a fool." Rebecca cried, she noticed Daryl shift uncomfortably still watching her, his eyes staring at her dress, her injuries, all that blood.

Maggie pulled her in for a hug and Rebecca clung on to her desperately as she sobbed.

Daryl pushed away from the wall and began striding towards her.

"Merle's alive." Glenn stated, Daryl stopped in his tracks "He's working for the Governor, he was going to execute us."

Rebecca's heart jumped when she remembered Merle almost killing her not long ago. She couldn't imagine how conflicted Daryl must be feeling with this information pushed on to him so suddenly.

"I have to find him, I can convince him to let us go." Daryl reasoned, looking to Rick for back up.

Rick shook his head solemnly.

"I need you by my side Daryl." He ordered.

Rick walked to Rebecca before pulling her up roughly making her wince.

"Why did you run away?" He growled at her.

"You were gonna kill me, I knew you couldn't understand my side so I had to leave, to survive." She spat

"Did anyone help you?"

"No." She hissed, refusing to back down.

"Can we trust you?"

"I think the better question is can I trust you?" She shot back

Rick laughed bitterly.

"I won't kill you, but you need to help us escape." He replied

"Then it looks like we have a deal."

Rick nodded, he handed her a gun, the weight felt good in her hand.

"Let's get to the wall." He ordered.

* * *

Rebecca lay panting covered by a bush in the relative safety of the other side of the wall. She clutched her throbbing ribs looking around at the group.

Her eyes widened when she realised who was missing.

"Daryl" she gasped, turning to Rick desperately. "He's not here, he must have been caught."

"He'll get here." Rick said, although not convincingly.

"No! I need to tell him! He needs to know what he did to me! What I've been through. I'll get him myself." She growled

"Are you insane? You're barely holding it together, if you go back in there you'll die." Maggie whispered.

"I don't care." Rebecca argues stubbornly.

A rustling makes Rebecca jump as Michonne crept in to view.

"Michonne?" Rebecca yelped.

"You know each other?" Rick asked.

"Sort of..." Rebecca mutters.

"Why did you disappear? I knew we couldn't trust you." Rick demanded.

"You still need my help." Michonne answered cooly.

"We can sort this out later." Rebecca hissed "You need to bring Daryl back out of there alive."


	11. Chapter 11

**This chapter will be the only chapter from Double Edged Sword that is from Daryl's point of view. I hope you're enjoying it, please review so I know if I'm going in the right direction :)  
**

* * *

What started off as a rescue mission soon descended in to the hardest day of Daryl Dixon's life. The second he'd seen Rebecca cowering in the corner, wearing a beautiful dress that was covered in blood, his mind hazed over. He'd convinced himself he'd never see her again, she wouldn't be dead, just not near and that was mostly okay for him. He didn't want forgiveness because he didn't deserve it. However, seeing her there, so close... so within his reach he couldn't stop himself if he tried. To have her in his arms felt like he'd slipped in to one of the many dreams he'd had since he'd walked away from her.

Had she always been that small?

As he, Merle, Rick and Maggie trudged back to the car where she was he couldn't concentrate on what Merle was saying.

He had too many questions, where had she been? How long was she alone? Was she still mad? Whose blood was she covered in? Who had hurt her?

It was driving him crazy, the not knowing.

He glanced up and saw her there, sitting on top of a car, her hair was shorter. Had she cut it off because of him?

He quickened his pace, desperate to reach her. She noticed him and slid carefully off the car. She limped towards him, her face set in a determined scowl. When they finally reached each other she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to meet her lips. It felt better than all the times he'd dreamt about her, about the way she felt in his arms. He'd almost forgotten how soft she was, as she pulled away Daryl grinned lazily at her. Suddenly her palm struck his cheek, it stung so much his eyes widened, she was crying and he knew why.

"You're a real ass hole Daryl Dixon." She hissed

"I'm sorry. I looked for you, afterwards..." He tried to pull her back to him, she was trembling.

"No! You're not allowed to say that, you looked for me? So what. It means nothing." She sobbed, clutching her dress. "You... You left me... all alone! I almost lost my mind! I almost died."

"I made a mistake, I thought it was for the best." He wouldn't stop trying to reach out to her. "When I heard what you were involved in before... before us... I didn't know how to feel."

"For the best? For the best! You thought leaving me to defend myself was for the best? You should have believed me, I didn't tell anyone because I knew you lot wouldn't understand." She yelled, throwing her hands in the air "I went back to the farm, did you know that? I went back, to see you again! It was all destroyed. I thought you were dead... I mourned you!"

"I'm sorry."

"I don't give a rats ass about your sorry." she spat.

"Rebecca..." Daryl was stunned, hurt, but he understood.

"I was so close to death, to giving up, did you even care? You have no idea what I've been through, where I've been! You left me to die!" She glared at him.

"I know that! You think I didn't know that? It's all I thought about! I wanted to find you, I tried so hard! I couldn't keep holding on forever! It killed me to stop, I loved you and I let you be out here alone! I know that! I have to live with it, every day!" He yelled

Her face crumbled in pain and heavy sobs forced their way out of her throat, Maggie placed her arm around Rebecca's shoulder protectively and lead her away. Daryl turned to glare at Merle and Glenn who were arguing.

"He can't come with us Daryl." Rick mumbled when Daryl reached them.

"What? No! Don't ask me to leave him, I can't keep doing this for the good of the group or whatever shit you come out with this time." Daryl shouted.

"Rebecca's coming with us, she saved me and she deserves our help." Maggie ordered, walking towards the group. Daryl saw Rebecca whispering to Michonne.

"Don't make me chose." Daryl warned.

"You're gonna have to, Rebecca agrees that Merle shouldn't come with us, he's the one who bruised her face like that." Maggie argued.

Daryl whirled round to face Merle, blind with rage.

"You hurt her..." He accused, drawing up to his full height.

Merle laughed nervously.

"I did what had to be done, you gonna pick a piece of tail over your brother? Your blood." Merle teased.

Daryl snarled at Merle, he marched over to Rebecca, he wouldn't just leave her again, unless she told him to.

"Rebecca..." Daryl pleaded

She turned to him, eyes large but defeated.

"You're going with him... aren't you..." It wasn't a question, they both knew he needed to pick his brother, even if he was scum, he was blood. Merle would only do more damage by himself, he needed Daryl to keep an eye on him.

"I'm..."

"Don't say you're sorry, it looses meaning after a while." She whispered.

"He's my brother."

"Yeah, and he's the guy that almost caved my face in, you've made your choice." Rebecca turned away from him. Her shoulders shaking, he wanted to lift her up and just carry her away, it could just be the two of them.

"I really am sorry." He mumbled, he turned to walk away, back to his brother.

"Me too." Rebecca called after him.

He grabbed Merle's arm and pulled him away.

He couldn't say the words good-bye, even though he knew he wouldn't see her again. For the second time he was walking away from her, walking away from the possibility of being truly happy. He already thought he'd made a terrible mistake.


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm really ill! But I wanted to write another chapter :)**

* * *

Rebecca couldn't watch him walk away, not again. She knew he'd choose Merle, he had to, Daryl felt a lot of responsibility towards his brother. Knowing that didn't make it any easier. Maggie squeezed her hand, trying to comfort her. It didn't work but Rebecca appreciated the gesture.

The prison was huge, daunting and awfully grey. It didn't fill her with hope in the same way Woodbury had. It seemed depressing, but it was safe and that was all that mattered.

She saw Carol and Carl open the gates to let them through. Rebecca slid out of the car, still clutching her ribs when Carol enveloped her in a hug.

"He found you." Carol whispered "He made himself sick looking for you, he regretted letting you go." Carol looked around and back at Rebecca, her expression confused and worried.

"He couldn't have regretted it that much, he left with Merle." Rebecca choked out.

Carol's eyes swam with pain, she cared about Daryl too, it hurt Rebecca all the more to see it.

"I'll show Rebecca around." Carol called to the rest of the group, she gripped Rebecca's hand and lead her towards the prison.

* * *

"This is... was Daryl's place." Carol informed Rebecca, gesturing towards the empty cell.

"Seems... nice?" Rebecca whispered.

"You can rest here, you look tired." Carol smiled.

Rebecca nodded slowly, she walked towards the worn out bed and lowered herself on to it.

"You've been through a lot." Carol said sitting beside her.

"We all have, it's not important." Rebecca didn't want to talk about this, not to Carol, not yet.

"It's very important. You should talk about it."

"What's there to talk about? You all turned on me, Daryl abandoned me, I found a dog, almost died, got saved, my dog died then everyone I thought I could trust tried to kill me." The words tumbled out before Rebecca could stop them.

"I'm very sorry." Carol soothed, rubbing her back.

"Me too... me too." Rebecca muttered, resting her face in her hands.

"Lie down, have a sleep, I'll bring you some clothes and get Hershel to take a look at your injuries." Carol ordered, pushing herself up from the bed.

"What about showing me around?" Rebecca asked.

"That can wait, you need to rest first."

Carol pulled an old curtain across the entrance to the cell and left Rebecca alone.

The cell was small, but she could tell it had been Daryl's. She pulled the knife out of her make shift belt and laid it on the small table next to the bed. She stood up and untied the belt, throwing the rope to the corner of the room. She managed to peel the dirty dress off her small frame and stepped out of it. She felt disgusting, dirty, all she wanted was a nice hot bath.

She walked over to a pile of clothes on the floor, picking up the first shirt she found she held it to her face. She closed her eyes and inhaled Daryl's scent. He smelled like the forest and dirt.

"Perfect." She mumbled to herself. She pulled the shirt and gingerly climbed in to the uncomfortable bed.

Daryl's smell was all over the bed, it covered her and filled her up. She let her eyes slide closed and fell in to the deepest sleep she'd had since Dixon's death. In her dreams Daryl was whispering in her ear, telling her all the things she wanted to hear. His strong arms surrounded her and she felt happy, truly happy, for the first time in a long time.

* * *

Rebecca's eyes shot open upon hearing a slight cough from outside the cell.

"Rebecca?" Hershel called

"Come in." She answered, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"I heard you're injured? There isn't much I can do but I can take a look." He smiled gently at her, she couldn't help but smile back. Hershel reminded her of her own father, warm and kind.

"I think I'm just bruised." Rebecca explained.

"Let's take a look at those ribs."

Rebecca lifted her shirt carefully and Hershel inspected them, poking gently.

"Hmm, I doubt they're broken, probably just bruised like you said. Any other injuries?"

"Just a few cuts and scrapes, nothing to worry about." Rebecca pointed to her face.

"Let me know if they start giving you any bother." Hershel said as he squeezed her hand.

"Thank you."

"Hershel!" Rick yelled making Rebecca jump.

"We better get down there." Hershel smiled, standing up and making his way out of the cell.

Rebecca stood up and found a pair of jeans Carol must have left for her. She pulled them on slowly, careful to not agitate any of the cuts on her legs and limped after Hershel down to the rest of the group.

"We'll be out numbered with Daryl gone and Oscar dead." Carol states, biting her lip nervously.

"We could use some reinforcements." Hershel mentions, tilting his head towards a door.

Rebecca frowned, not knowing who the people in the next room were or why they were being kept separate from the rest of the group.

* * *

Rebecca couldn't understand what had changed in Rick, he seemed manic, she could only assume it had something to do with Lori not being there.

"What do you want from me?" Rick screamed, waving his gun in the air, staring at nothing. "I can't help you! Get out!"

She glanced at Tyreese and his group who looked terrified as they backed away from him.

"You need to go outside." Glenn ordered, pointing at Tyreese.

Rebecca edged out of Rick's way as he frantically paced the common room.

She looked around the room for answers but everyone looked as afraid as she felt. Rick was loosing it and the Govorner could turn up any moment.


	13. Chapter 13

Rebecca decided avoiding Rick was her safest bet. He had clearly lost his mind and he didn't really want her there in the first place so staying out of his way was the best thing she could do to make sure she got to stay in the prison.

"Hey, Rebecca." Maggie called as she walked towards her.

"Hey." Rebecca answered, she was lying on the grass outside of the prison, watching the clouds roll by. She sat up as Maggie settled herself down beside her.

"I wanted to thank you again." Maggie whispered, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

"Don't, I didn't do anything, not really. It was just right place right time." Rebecca didn't want her gratitude, it felt wrong considering she had only been looking for the Governor so he could help her.

"Well, I'm glad you were there." Maggie admitted, smiling at her.

"Me too."

"What was it like there? Woodbury I mean." Maggie asked

"At first... it was like a dream come true, but things like that never last long..." Rebecca stared in to the distance, she didn't want to cry, not in front of Maggie.

"The people?"

"Most were nice, just looking for somewhere to survive... but some... well..." Rebecca motioned to her bruised jaw.

"We missed you, you know? Daryl especially."

Rebecca scoffed, shaking her head.

"I mean it. After we escaped the farm he insisted on going back, going to find you. He said he could still track you." Maggie explained

Rebecca pulled at the grass by her feet.

"Why didn't he? find me I mean." Rebecca asked, pulling apart the blades of grass.

"He did! For ages, he wanted to bring you back but he lost hope... He was scared that he would find you dead, like Sophia."

"He really looked for me?" Rebecca asked, unable to concentrate on the grass anymore, searching Maggie's eyes to see if she was telling the truth.

"Every day." Maggie answered, nodding sternly.

Rebecca leant her head on her knees and smiled.

"He came back for me." She cried, laughing softly. "But... he's gone now."

"Maggie!" Glenn called,

Maggie placed her hand on Rebecca's shoulder and squeezed before she stood up and walked back towards the prison.

Rebecca saw Carol talking to a man, she had been told, was called Axel in the courtyard. Before Rebecca had time to blink a gun shot pierced the relative peaceful atmosphere and Axel collapsed to the ground. Rebecca scanned the tree line in horror, searching for the origin of the bullet and sees the Governor by the tree line aiming at the prison once more.


	14. Chapter 14

Rebecca saw Carol use Axel's dead body as a shield as a barrage of bullets showered down on them. Rebecca could only lie down, as flat as possible with only the grass surrounding her for cover.

Her breathing grew rapid and shallow, she didn't have a weapon to defend herself. She turned her head towards the prison in time to see Maggie burst out of the doors in to the courtyard carrying lots of guns. Finally their side were firing back at the Woodbury group on the other side of the fence.

Rebecca covered her ears, clenching her eyes shut when silence fell. The gunfire ceased and Rebecca took the chance to lift her head. A bread truck came crashing through the gates and stopped in the middle of the Prison's yard too close for her liking.

The back doors of the truck burst open and several walkers tumbled out. Rebecca tried to scramble away without drawing any attention to herself. She saw the Governor drive away, leaving them to deal with the increasing number of walkers. Rebecca rolled over in time to catch a walker who landed on top of her. Her ribs stung terribly as she tried to fight it off.

"Help!" She screamed, only drawing more attention towards herself. She tried to push it off but it was too heavy, it's jaws gnashing inches away from her face. Suddenly a crossbow bolt pierces it's head making it drop on top of her. It's weight was quickly lifted away and she stared up in amazement at Daryl towering above her. He threw the limp carcass away and pulled her up, he threw her over his shoulder and sprinted towards the relative safety of the prison. He gently places her on the ground.

"Stay here, keep hidden until I come back for you." He ordered before jogging off to help clear out the remaining walkers. It was all Rebecca could do to stare after him, it felt like a dream. Maybe she had died when that walker fell on her.

* * *

"You came back." Rebecca whispered in to Daryl's chest, his arms wrapped around her protectively.

"I said I would." He murmured in to her hair.

"No, I mean, you came back... to the prison."

"I shouldda stuck with you, I forced you to be alone." He kissed her head and closed his eyes.

Rebecca's grip on his shirt tightened before she looked up at him, he took her hand and led her in to the prison, back to his cell.

"You slept in here?" He asked as they sat down on the bed.

"Yeah, and I borrowed one of your shirts... I would've asked but you weren't here so..." she rambled.

"It's okay, it suits you." He grinned, his hand gently caressing her back.

A comfortable silence settled upon them, Rebecca leant her head on his shoulder and concentrated on the sound of him breathing, steady and reassuring.

"What happened? At Woodbury." Daryl's questions cut through the silence and forced Rebecca out of a pleasant day dream.

"I wouldn't know where to start." She answered, shrugging her shoulders.

"How about you start with who's blood covered that dress you had on." His body tensed.

"A man's, a bad man's called Chris... he was... well... he was messed up." She shivered.

"What did he do to you?" Daryl grunted

"He killed a friend on mine... then he tried to kill me." Rebecca admitted, tears stung her eyes at the memory of Dixon. "We're all going to die... one day... and it probably won't be that long off with the Governor knocking at our door."

"Nah." Daryl whispered, pulling her closer to him.

"Nah? What do you mean?"

"I just got you back, I ain't losing you to any body, even with a name like the Governor."

Rebecca couldn't help but smile, the warmth of Daryl spread through her entire body.

"I wanted to hate you, after..." Rebecca admitted

"D'ya still feel that way?" Daryl asked, he eyes pained.

Rebecca shook her head.

"I don't want to waste my time hating you, I never really did hate you, I just felt like I should."

Daryl lifted her chin and kissed her briefly.

"I want us to start our future together..." He mumbled, he bashfully looked away.

Rebecca leant up and kissed his jaw, remembering the way his stubble tickled her face.

"Me too." She whispered.

"So..." Daryl cleared his throat, glancing around the room "It's not much but you're welcome to share with me."

"I don't know, maybe not just yet... It feels a bit too soon." Rebecca smiled awkwardly at him, hoping he didn't take it the wrong way.

"You're right... I need to earn your complete forgiveness right?" He winked, chuckling when Rebecca tapped him on the arm playfully.

"Cheeky." She laughed before leaning in to him again.

* * *

**I wanted to have a chapter were Rebecca and Daryl truly get back to each other and I'm happy with how it turned out. I hope you enjoyed it! I'm just looking forward to the weekend. Work's been hard again so I'm going to sleep all weekend :D**


	15. Chapter 15

Rebecca was sat next to Daryl watching him clean his crossbow, his concentration wouldn't allow for any conversation but she didn't mind, just being near him was enough to keep her content.

"Shortie" Merle called from across the room

Rebecca glared at him, unwilling to forgive him for hurting her.

He curled his finger at her, signalling her to come over, she glanced at Daryl who was still focused on his crossbow. She stood up and dragged her feet to Merle, she heard Daryl clear his throat and looked back at him. He was staring at Merle threateningly.

"Don't call me that." She hissed at Merle

"I only wanted to explain myself." He shrugged

"Go ahead, it won't change anything."

"I needed him to think I was on his side." Merle grinned

"You are so full of shit." Rebecca grimaced

"He saved my life." His eyes grew serious

"He saved mine too, that means nothing when he's asking you to do things you know are wrong." Rebecca explained

"That's my job, I do the stuff that needs to be done."

"Needs to be done?"

"So the people 'in charge' can sleep at night." Merle chuckled.

"Is this some twisted way of apologising?" Rebecca snarled

"I guess you could take it that way."

"Shove it up your ass. I don't need your sorry." Rebecca spat

Merle laughed as she turned away to walk back to Daryl.

"Daryl's done well to get you." He called after her.

Rebecca stopped and spun round to face him once more.

"You think you know him because he's your brother but you don't." She whispered

"Meanin'?" Merle's eyebrows rose.

"Meaning he's the bravest, most compassionate man I've ever met and no matter how hard you try to squash that out of him he'll always find his way back to that." She hissed before stalking back to sit on the table next to Daryl. She refused to look at Merle again, knowing she'd have to put up with his presence for the forseeable future.

"You okay?" Daryl muttered, leaning close to her.

"I'm wonderful." she mumbled before placing her hand on his and squeezing firmly.

* * *

The sun was beating down over the prison, it was suffocating. Rebecca wandered around the courtyard before spotting Carl sat on the ground in the shade of a building. She skipped towards him and sat next to him, patting his knee.

"Hey Carl." She sang

"Hi." Carl muttered

"I wanted give my condolences, your mother was a good woman." She tried to smile gently at him but it came out forced and strained.

"Thanks." He whispered, leaning his head on his knees.

"Sometimes I envy the dead." Rebecca said wistfully, watching the perimeter of the prison. When Carl didn't respond she glanced at him, he was glaring at her.

"If you want to die you should just do it instead of wasting supplies." He spat.

Rebecca recoiled from the venom in his tone.

"That's a disgusting thing to say." She scolded.

"And envying the dead is so great." He rolled his eyes.

"Now you listen to me, I don't care if you think you're an adult now you can't just talk to people that way, manners still have a place in this world." She explained. "I did not mean I want to die, I just think how peaceful it would be. To not have to fight anymore. They're no longer in pain but don't take that to mean I'm going to give up. I will keep fighting until I physically can't anymore."

He glanced up at her, his expression apologetic.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean..." He muttered

"It's okay, just... don't assume we've given up, being an adult means having to make difficult decisions."

"Your eyes look older... you look tired."

"We all do, when I was your age I had my whole life planned out, I was going to get married, have kids, be a doctor and grow to be 100." Rebecca laughed "Now, I can't even think about tomorrow until I get through today, but we will, get through it I mean."

Carl nodded, silence fell and all Rebecca could hear was Carl's steady breathing.

"I wanted to be Sheriff, like my dad." Carl whispered.

"I think you would've made a great sheriff." Rebecca praised, pulling him close and hugging him tightly.


	16. Chapter 16

**It's been so long since I last updated this story and honestly I considered giving it up, I've had a really difficult couple of weeks that have made it hard for me to keep going and find time to write. I hope I haven't disappointed anyone but I figured I once loved writing this story and getting feedback made it so fun so I will continue with it and hopefully rediscover why I started writing it. :)  
**

**On another note I've just begun a new story, a Harry Potter fanfiction, I hope you check it out and enjoy it. :) **

* * *

Hand tightened around Rebecca's neck, she gasped for air desperately trying to pry the hands off her, the face of her attacker shrouded in darkness.

"Help!" She choked

"No one's coming." A disembodied voice chuckled close by.

She scratched at the strong hands as they clenched her neck, her lungs burned from lack of air.

"Rebecca" Daryl's voice called, it was distant and she couldn't see him in the shadows.

"It's just a dream, you need to wake up." His voice grew more clear as she struggled to break free of the vice like grip around her neck.

"Rebecca!"

Her eyes shot open and desperately searched the room. Her body was drenched in sweat and tangled up in the rough blanket she used to keep warm during the night. Large warm hands were gently holding her face as she stared up in to Daryl's concerned face.

"It was just a dream?" She asked, her voice was shaking as he pushed her matted hair away from her face.

He nodded calmly "Just a dream." He answered

She pulled herself in to a sitting position and leant against the cold hard concrete of the wall of the cell that was serving as a bed room.

Daryl looked conflicted, like he wanted to ask something but didn't know how.

"Woodbury was a dangerous place." Rebecca whispered, hoping that would be enough explanation for now.

He only nodded.

"I'm going out of the prison today, me an' Rick, we're going to meet with the Gov'ner." He explained

"Why?" She didn't want him to leave, not now, her fear of him not returning made her stomach flip angrily.

"We need to get this sorted, Rick reckons we can convince him to back down."

"The Governor is a mad man and Rick isn't exactly mister sane right now." Rebecca scoffed

"Hey, Rick's doin' his best, he's lost his wife." Daryl lectured

Rebecca looked down, feeling ashamed of her attitude, she knew how it felt to lose someone but Rick had all the burden of being in charge on top of his shoulders as well. It was wrong of her to make jokes at his expense and she knew Daryl was extremely loyal to the man.

"I'm sorry, I'm just all over the place." She apologised

"S'okay, I'll come back. I'm jus' gonna watch his back incase the Gov'ner pulls a trick on him." Daryl kissed her forehead lovingly.

"Promise?" She begged

"I promise." He answered, he squeezed her hand tightly before standing to leave.

"You better be right." She smiled at him.

She watched as Daryl walked away and once he was out of sight she curled up, hugging her knees close to her body.

"Rebecca?" Carol's soft voice shocks Rebecca as she jerked up.

"Carol! You scared me." She whispered quickly wiping her eyes.

Carol marched up to her bed and gently sat down on the edge, her hand landed softly on Rebecca's knee as she gazed in to her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Carol asked, her voice was so full of concern that Rebecca couldn't hold it back anymore. She burst in to tears and began telling Carol everything that had happened during their time apart. Carol's face drained of all colour whilst listening to her story and tears formed in her own eyes.

"My God. Rebecca... That's horrible." Carol shook her head in disbelief before looking Rebecca straight in the eye. "You're safe now."

Rebecca shook her own head and laughed sarcastically.

"Seems all I've done recently is cry." She growled, she was mad at herself for being so weak.

"Sometimes we need to get it all out, it may take a while but that's all part of the process. Then you need to put it behind you, I know it's hard but this Chris guy is gone now and you're still here. That is your victory against the people who have done you wrong." Carol explained.

Rebecca knew she was right, hearing it that way made her realise she'd been afraid of a ghost. He wasn't there anymore, he'd tried so hard to destroy her but she'd survived. She had to keep on surviving and she'd cried enough about everything that had happened now she needed to concentrate on regaining her strength and helping the group.

"Carol, are there any jobs I can do to help out?" Rebecca asked, her eyes brightening with possibility.

"There's always something that needs doing." Carol chuckled pulling Rebecca in for a tight hug.

Finally Rebecca could see a path in front of her, it would be difficult and she would still feel the sting of loss but she felt she could truly keep going, especially now Daryl was by her side.


End file.
